The Perfect Proposal
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: Josh decides to propose to Donna and enlists Sam to help him but nothing goes to plan. Complete
1. The Perfect Proposal

**Hey, my computer isn't working at the moment so I'm borrowing one. Instead of trying to remember what I've already got saved on my computer, I decided to do a standalone fic but this idea got bigger and bigger. So it's not going to be a very long series but was to long for one piece and it's just a little fun so please review and let me know what you think!! Thanks for Allie for her help!!**

**Enjoy!!**

**The Perfect Proposal **

"Hey, Josh." Bram smiled at his boss as he sat next to him and opposite Sam. "We were just talking about the Mets game last night."

"That's great," Josh replied. "Go away."

Bram stared at him for a few seconds and opened his mouth to reply but decided against it. He quickly gathered his lunch together and hurried off.

Sam watched Josh questionable. "You okay?"

"Sure," he shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I can't help but notice you just chased Bram away."

"Yes."

"And you're eating in Mess."

"I am."

"You never eat in the Mess."

"I've eaten in the Mess loads of times."

"Yeah, sure while you were Deputy Chief of Staff but as Chief of Staff not so much….Well, not since you and Donna decided to 'eat alone' now you're together." Sam used his fingers to do the quotations, never getting bored of teasing Josh at how domesticated he's become.

"She's got a lunch meeting."

"Ah."

"Anyway, I was thinking…" Josh pushed his food aside and leaned in closer to Sam. "It's Donna's birthday next week and I want to do something special."

"Isn't the First Lady throwing her a party?"

"Yeah, her parents and my Mom are coming down," Josh informed. "Plus C.J and Danny are flying in."

"Really? That's great."

"And hopefully President Bartlet is going to try and make it."

"So, it's going to be quite some party then." Sam picked up his soda. "You'll have to do something quite special to top all of that."

"I'm going to propose to her."

Sam choked on his drink. "Excuse me?"

"I'm going to ask Donna to marry me."

"You're serious?"

"Yes, why? Don't you think it's a good idea?"

"No, I think it's great!" Sam insisted. "I'm just a little shocked."

"Why?"

"Because…well, because it's you."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry but come on; you've got to admit…"

"Whatever…" Josh cut him off, rolling his eyes. "You have to help me."

"How?"

"I don't know…just make sure I don't mess this up."

"Yeah, okay." Sam chuckled slightly.

"Enough with the laughing," Josh told him. "I'm trying to be serious."

"Right, sorry…What do you have in mind?"

"Well, everyone she loves is going to be at the party anyway so I'll ask her to come outside for some fresh air with me," he started. "And I'm going to have the garden decorated with hundreds of little candles and flowers…I'll tell her how much I love her and how I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"You know you'll make her cry."

"Sam…"

"I'm just warning. You because you go all weird when Donna cries, whether she's crying because she's happy or sad."

"I'll be fine."

"Well anyway, it sounds perfect," he smiled. "Congratulations."

"She hasn't said yes, yet."

"You think she'll turn you down?"

Josh grinned. "No."

"Hey, we can have a double wedding."

Josh stared at him for a moment before standing up and leaving without saying a word.

"Hey, come on…I was kidding." Sam called after him. "Josh?"

_**XxXxX**_

Josh stood by the bar, looking around the room. It was only a small party and Donna seemed to be enjoying herself. She was stood catching up with C.J and Danny on the other side of the room. She looked over and when she saw him watching them, she gestured for him to join them.

"Joshua," a familiar voice from behind called him before he had a chance to move.

He turned and came face to face with Abbey Bartlet. Normally he would love talking to her but she had called him Joshua…He was always in trouble when she called him Joshua.

"Dr Bartlet, you look great." He greeted her with a kiss.

"You don't look so bad, yourself," she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm eating the right foods, exercising the right amount and my blood pressure is fine," he reported. "My Doctor says I'm in great shape."

"Have you been practicing that?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I thought as much," she smiled. She paused and looked around the room before speaking again. "Jed wanted to be here tonight but he's off somewhere doing his thing?"

"Doing his thing?" Josh repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I forget what he's up to this week." She waved her hand dismissively. "You know, now he's not the President, I don't have to listen to him nearly as much as I used to"

Josh laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"So, I couldn't help but notice something…" Abbey started.

"Ma'am?" Josh suddenly felt nervous again.

"Donna still hasn't got a ring on her finger."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Y'know I've already had this conversation with my Mother, Donna's Mother, The First Lady, C.J… I get it from Margaret everyday…"

"One would think you'd listen to us," Abbey replied. "We women are smart."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"So?"

"So, I'm working on it."

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Good boy."

"Dr Bartlet?" Donna approached. "Wow, I can't believe you came."

"Donna, you look beautiful." She leaned in to hug her. "Jed sends his love and his apologies that he couldn't make it…"

"Oh that's okay; I'm just thrilled you could make it."

"Are you kidding and miss the chance to get drunk with you again?"

Donna blushed at the memory and Josh groaned quietly.

"So, is he behaving?" Abbey questioned, nodding towards Josh.

"Most of the time," Donna answered, smiling at her boyfriend.

"And is he telling the truth about eating and excising?"

"Yes, Ma'am…He has salad for lunch everyday and is eating his five portions fruit and vegetables…"

"Do you have to talk about me like I'm not here?" Josh questioned but neither of the women took any notice of him.

"You seem to have him well trained."

"I've had a lot of years to practice."

"This cannot get any worse…" Josh mumbled to himself.

"Hey, how's everyone doing over here?" Matt Santos joined them, with Helen and Sam behind him.

"Apparently it can..." Josh added, causing everyone to look at him. "What?"

"Just ignore him…" Abbey told the President and First Lady.

"We normally do," Matt joked.

Josh pulled Donna away from the group as they caught up with each other.

"How about we go outside for a bit," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled a little at him, curiously. "Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing, I just want to spend some time with you."

"Why are you being so sweet?"

"Hey, I'm always sweet…." He insisted but she just stared at him. "Okay, most of the time."

"If you say so..."

He reached for her hand. "Let s go…"

"Where are you two going?" Matt asked them both.

"We're just stepping out for some fresh air," Josh informed him.

"You can't go yet…Sam's just about to give a toast."

"Well, we can listen to it out ther…." Josh stopped in mid-sentence and turned to stare at the President. "Wait! He's doing what?!"

"He's giving his toast." Matt gestured to where Sam was stood at the front of the room.

"But...what?" Josh stuttered, a little.

"What are you worried about?" Helen asked. "Sam makes great toasts."

"Yeah but… it's not time."

"Not time?" Donna looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"He was meant to wait."

"For what?"

"For ….uh…nothing…"

"Josh?" Donna turned to face him fully, while Abbey, Matt and Helen watched.

"Donna, it's just…it's…" He shrugged to come up with a good excuse.

"Joshua Lyman if you have planned something that will embarrass me…"

"What? No, no…" He cut her off. "No, it's nothing like that."

"Shh, Sam is starting," Abbey hit Josh's arm lightly and they all turned to face the front again.

"Oh god…" Josh groaned, knowing deep down that his best friend was about to ruin what should be one of the best nights of his life.

"Good evening everyone…" Sam started and everyone immediately turned their attention to him. "Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for being here night and I'm sure you'd all like to join me in saying a very Happy Birthday to Donna…"

There was a chorus of happy birthday and Donna smiled politely back at them, gripping a little tighter onto Josh's hand, self-consciously.

"Now, Donna is one of my very best friends…I've known her for almost ten years now and I first met her when she hired herself as Josh Lyman assistant during the 'Bartlet For America' campaign…Yes, hired _herself_…" Sam paused for a moment when there was a quiet laugh. "And thank God, she did… Josh has told me repeatedly, that he wouldn't have coped without her."

Josh let the breath he hadn't realised he was holding as Donna stepped a little closer to him. This was okay…Sam was actually making him sound good. Maybe this way was better.

"Donna was one of the best assistants in the West Wing and has learned from her experience to become a valuable Chief of Staff for the First Lady," Sam continued. "And I'm sure that everyone in this room can tell a story about how Donna's helped them."

Josh wrapped an arm around Donna's waist, pulling her closer, kissing the top of her hair.

"I know, I have hundreds…Helping put out the fire in the Mural Room, that two people who shall remain nameless started…"

Josh looked around and noticed that most of the people in the room were looking at him.

"Countless help with work, advice whenever I needed it…" Sam continued to list. "I could go on but we may be here all night…I'd just like thank Donna for everything she's done for me and to tell you all just how proud I am of her….So, if everyone would like to raise your glass to Donna Moss."

"Donna Moss." Everyone cheered, raising their glasses in the air.

"He can be so sweet sometimes," Donna commented as everyone went back to their own conversations.

"Well, we haven't heard Josh's speech yet." Helen grinned at her husband's Chief of Staff.

"Oh god, you're not going to make a speech, are you?" Donna asked wide-eyed.

"Hey, I can be just as sweet as Sam."

"Oh no, you're going to embarrass me…." She covered her face with her hands. "In front of the President and the First Lady… and all my friends…Oh God, in front of parents."

Josh rolled his eyes, reaching up and pulling her hand away from her face and leading her away. "I'm not going to embarrass you…"

"Where we going?"

"For a walk."

"A walk?"

"Yeah," he replied, wanting to get out of there before something happened that would ruin everything.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sam shouted over the noise to get everyone's attention again and causing Donna to stop and listen. "Megan and I have set a date for the wedding… March 18th."

Josh's mouth fell open while Donna rushed over to congratulate Sam and talk weddings with Megan.

"See, Joshua… Sam has the right idea." His Mother commented as she walked past him, heading over to Sam as well.

"But I was…I…I had a plan…I…" He stuttered but no one was around to listen to him.

30 minutes later, Josh was able to drag Sam away from the party and out into the garden where all the flowers and candles had been set up.

"Wow, it looks great out here." Sam looked around. "But shouldn't you do the proposal soon, people are starting to leave."

"I can't do it now!" Josh almost shouted.

"Why not?" Sam frowned. "What happened?"

"You happened!" He exclaimed. "You and your speech!"

Sam stood up a little straight, almost offended by the comment. "It was a good speech!"

"Yeah, right up until you announced the date of your wedding!"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, all people have been talking to me about is when Donna and I are getting married!"

"See, I was setting the mood…" Sam insisted. "Now you can propose and go and tell everyone."

"But they're all going to think I only asked her because everyone's been telling me I had to!"

"Ah."

"Yes! All of this was perfect! I had it all planned out!" He exclaimed. "Now I've got to think of another romantic way for asking her."

"I can help."

"You think I want you're help after tonight?"

"It'll be different next time…we can plan it together…we'll be on the same page," Sam stated. "That way it'll easier for us not to screw it up."

Josh glared at him. "All you had to do was keep quiet until after I proposed…That was all I asked for you too do."

"I know…I'm sorry…"

"Josh?" Matt stepped out, looking around. "Wow."

"Is everything okay, Sir?"

"What? Oh yeah just Donna was looking for you," he replied. "Are you coming back inside or shall I tell her you two wanted some alone time."

"I'll be right there, Sir." Josh answered, while Sam took a big step away from him.

"Right." Matt laughed to himself as he returned to the party.

"Why don't we talk about this tomorrow?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, let's get back to the party." Josh sighed and headed inside with Sam following.

**TBC**

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	2. Nice and Simple

**Here's the next chapter!! It was a quick update so please review!! **

**Enjoy!!**

**Nice And Simple**

"Okay, anything else?" Josh asked his staff but no one spoke up. "Great, that's all then...Sam, stay for a bit."

They stayed silent until Lou, Bram, Lester and Otto had left the office.

"I need you to take my meeting with Congresswoman Lewis this evening," Josh informed him, causing Sam to pull a face.

"Isn't there someone else who can take it?"

"No."

"But she doesn't like me."

"She doesn't like me either but I was still going to the meeting."

"You're not now though... you're sending me."

"Yes."

"Okay fine and what is the reason behind my suffering?"

"I'm taking Donna to dinner."

"Oh, you're going to propose tonight?"

"Yes, I'm taking her to her favourite restaurant...We'll have some good food and maybe a little champagne and then I'll ask her," Josh told him. "Just nice and simple."

"Sounds good." Sam nodded his agreement. "But you should put the ring in her dessert or something."

"No."

"You have got her a ring, haven't you?"

"Of course I have," he glared at him. "Besides, with my luck...She'll probably end up swallowing it."

Sam let out a small laugh. "I can see the headlines now...'Girlfriend chokes on idea of marrying White House Chief of Staff'..."

"You know I'm this close to asking Toby to be my best man." Josh held up his thumb and middle finger, millimetres apart.

"Right, sorry..."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door that connected to the Oval office and they both got to their feet as The President appeared.

"Good Morning, Sir," Josh greeted. "Is everything okay?"

"I just worked something out."

"Sir?"

"You've been acting weird lately." He pointed his finger at Josh. "And then there was all those candles and everything last night in the garden..."

"Mr President?"

"Josh, is there any chance that you're thinking of asking Donna to be your wife?"

Josh sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, no but I've had time to think it over..." Matt started to explain. "And I may have over heard a few things a minute ago."

Josh stood up a little straighter. "You were listening at my door?"

"What? No, I didn't mean to..." Matt insisted before deciding to change the subject. "Anyway, that doesn't matter... Donna and you are getting married...That's great."

"I haven't asked her yet."

"What happened last night?"

"I happened, Sir," Sam answered before Josh could. "Apparently, I ruined the moment."

"You did!" Josh added.

"So, next time you don't let Sam within 100 feet of you," Matt advised.

Sam looked offended and was about to reply but thought better of it.

"Exactly, which is why he's taking the meeting with Congresswoman Lewis tonight while I take Donna to dinner."

"Good idea." Matt nodded. "If there's anything I can do to help..."

"I think I can handle this, Sir."

"Right..." He turned towards his door but then looked back. "Hey, have you thought about putting the ring in a cake or something?"

"He's vetoed that idea, Sir," Sam replied.

"I'm going to keep it simple," Josh told him.

"He doesn't want her to choke."

Matt looked from Josh and Sam before shaking his head slightly. "Right, well let me know how it goes."

"Yes, Sir," Josh said, watching as Matt entered his own office.

_XxXxX_

"You look great."

Donna smiled across the table at Josh. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He placed his hand on top of hers just as the waiter poured their drinks.

"Okay, what's the occasion?"

"What?"

"My favourite restaurant, champagne, you being very sweet..." She listed. "What's going on? Have you done something wrong?"

"What? No, I just felt like spoiling you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because you deserve it?"

She laughed a little. "Were you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you... Defiantly telling you that you deserve to be spoilt and telling you how perfect you are."

"Perfect?" She repeated, completely bemused by his behaviour.

"Perfect, beautiful, amazing...incredibly valuable..." He whispered, leaning over the table to give her a short sweet kiss, before pulling back a little. "I love you."

"I love you too..."

He grinned widely, sitting back in his chair. His free hand slipped into his jacket where the ring was.

"Donna..." He started before he could say any more, his pager started to beep and his phone rang a second later. He sighed loudly. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," she replied understandingly.

"Yeah, Josh Lyman..." He put his cell phone to his ear. "Right, yeah...okay, I'll be right in."

"Everything okay?"

"There's a situation," he replied, vaguely. "I have to go in."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry."

"Josh, it's fine."

"I wanted tonight to be special."

"It was," she assured him. "It was great."

"Yeah," he sighed.

"You've got to go."

"Okay." He kissed her on the cheek and handed her his credit card. "You okay getting home?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay, I don't know how long I'll be..."

"Okay, I hope everything works out."

"Me too." He mumbled as he made his way out of the restaurant.

_XxXxX_

"Please tell me you have some good news?"

Josh turned and saw the President walking behind him, both of them on their way to the Situation room.

"There's been a suicide bomb in Kazakhstan." Josh waited until Matt was by his side before walking again. "Luckily at the moment there have been no reports of anyone being injured..."

Matt sighed and was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "What about your dinner?"

"I'm sorry, Sir?" Josh frowned, looking at him.

"Did you ask her?" Matt questioned as they entered the Sit room.

"No, Sir...I got called in."

"Before you had the chance to propose?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You're going to propose to Donna?" Kate Harper looked at him.

Josh noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him. "I'm trying to, yes."

"You're trying to?" She repeated.

"Kate, you're the National Security Advisor and we have a situation..." Josh started.

"He's had a few problems," Matt told her. "He was going to do over dinner but this happened."

"Ah..." Kate nodded.

"And now he has to think of a new way of asking her," Matt continued.

"Mr President can we please..."

"Have you thought about putting the ring in her drink or something?" The Chairman of the Joint Chief suggested.

Josh stared at him but said nothing.

"Uh, that's a no go." Matt moved to sit down and gestured for the rest of them to take their seats. "Right, tell me what you know about Kazakhstan..."

_XxXxX_

"Hey Sam."

Sam looked up and grinned when he saw Donna stood in the doorway of his office. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Josh got called in and I didn't fancy being at home alone, so I thought I'd wait for him," she explained. "You're here late."

"Yeah just got back from my meeting with Lewis...She hates me."

"She hates Josh too." Donna laughed, walking fully into the office.

"I think she hates every man that's on earth."

"Possibly." Donna smiled slightly. "So, about Josh..."

"Yeah?"

"And about his plans."

"His plans?"

"Yes, his plans for tonight and the reason he's been acting weird."

"Oh those plans."

"Right, so you know about them?"

Sam looked at her curiously. "Do you know about them?"

Donna just smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

Sam jumped from his desk, his eyes wide with excitement. "He asked you? He actually did it?"

"Well..."

"This is really great!" Sam hugged her. "I'm so happy for you guys..."

"Sam..."

"He was meant to propose to you last night, but it didn't work out..." Sam rambled. "But at least he's done it now."

"He was going to propose to me?"

Sam froze and stared at her for a few seconds. "What?"

"Josh was going to propose to me?"

"He hasn't?"

"He got called into the situation room."

"Oh my, God! No!"

"He's going to propose?" She asked again.

"You said you knew!"

"Oh my, God, I can't believe this!" Donna exclaimed.

"You tricked me!"

"Oh, Sam...He's really going to propose?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, right after he kills me."

**TBC**

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	3. Sam's Plan

**Hey thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming!!**

**Enjoy!!**

**Sam's Plan**

"Look, Josh can't know that I've told you," Sam insisted, walking over and closing the door. "He wanted to ask you and make it special."

"I can't believe he's going to ask me to marry him," Donna said, slowly sitting down. "You're being serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, Donna." He covered his eyes, trying to figure out a plan that would work for all of them. "But things keeps stopping him."

Donna was quiet for a moment. "You don't think its fate's why of trying to stop us?"

"What?"

"Maybe it's trying to tell us to slow down."

"No, Donna... No, you guys are getting engaged!" Sam insisted. "Just... just remember this is Josh we're talkigng about...He may be Chief of Staff to the President but he's still the same guy that, invented a secret plan to fight inflation, set the White House on fire and missed the motorcade and got left in Indiana."

"Yeah, okay that is true."

"Right, so you won't say anything to him?" He questioned. "We'll just forget we ever had this conversation."

"I've got to call C.J." She suddenly stood up.

"No, no..." Sam gently pushed her back down in her seat. "You can't tell anyone."

"Josh and I are getting married!"

"Not yet, you're not...He hasn't asked you."

"Yeah but..."

"Just don't say anything to anyone until after," Sam pleaded. "This way, Josh gets to do the romantic thing, you get the perfect proposal and I get to be best man and you know, live to see the wedding."

"Okay, fine," she sighed.

"Okay, great...now I've got to get out of here before I say or do anything that will get me into more trouble."

"I'll go and wait for Josh in his office then."

"Remember... You don't know anything."

"I don't know anything about what?" She asked, faking innocence.

"About the proposal..." He answered before realising what she had meant.

She rolled her eyes and left the office. "Good night, Sam."

"Yeah..." He started shoving things into briefcase. "Depends on who you are."

_**XxXxX**_

When Josh returned to his office, he was surprised to see Donna sat talking to Margaret.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." She stood up. "You almost ready to go home?"

"Yeah, sure let me just grab my things."

Margaret looked at Donna as she watched Josh walk into his office. "What's going on?"

"What?"

"There's something happening between you two...I've got this vibe," she claimed.

"A vibe?"

"Yes, plus he's been acting really sweet the past couple of days towards you and now you've got that look on your face..."

"I've got a look on my face?"

"Yeah, a dopey 'I'm in love with my boyfriend' kind of look."

"I am in love with my boyfriend."

"But you've never had that look before..."

"I'm sure I have..."

"Nope, maybe the 'I'm in love with my boss' kind of look..."

"Who's in love with their boss?" Josh questioned as he reappeared.

"No one.." Donna answered, grabbing his hand and pulling him away. "Night Margaret."

"Bye..." Was all Josh had the chance to say before Donna had dragged him out of the door.

_**XxXxX**_

Donna was half listening to Josh, who was in the bathroom and rambling on about something that had happened that morning and half thinking about how he would propose. Sam had said something about him planning on doing it the night before at her party and she couldn't help but think how sweet that would have been. Then there was the dinner tonight, he was being so romantic, getting engaged would have been the perfect end to the night.

She wondered how long he had been planning this. How long ago he brought the ring...If he'd even brought it himself...Even if he got her ring. Josh was the kind of the guy to decided to propose then forget all about a ring. Just then, the suit jacket he had been wearing earlier caught her eye.

She jumped off the bed and picked it up off the floor, reaching into the pockets but they were all empty.

"I mean, we've been there almost a year and Otto still doesn't know how..." Josh trailed off and he stopped in the doorway just in a t-shirt and boxers with his toothbrush hanging from his mouth. "Are you going through my pockets?"

"No." She quickly let the jacket fall back to the floor.

"Because it kind of looks like you are..." He moved fully into the room, looking at her curiously.

"I wasn't...I was...I was uh... I was picking up after you!" She grabbed the jacket again but this time threw it towards him. "Why do you always leave you clothes on the floor?"

"I was just..." He started, removing the toothbrush from his mouth and putting his jacket on the chair in the corner.

"Just going to leave it there for me to clean up after you?" She finished off, storming past him and into the bathroom. "Typical man!"

Josh just stared in shock as she slammed the door, he had no idea what just happened.

_**XxXxX**_

"You asked her yet?" Sam questioned, from the door of Josh's office.

"I got called to the Situation room during dinner," Josh explained, putting his pen down.

"Yeah, I heard, but I thought you might have done it once you got home."

"Oh yeah, how special would that have been?" Josh rolled his eyes. "Besides, something weird happened last night?"

"What?"

"I don't know, I was getting ready for bed then she just flipped on me..."

Sam's eye widened. "What...what do you mean?"

"Well, she shouted at me for leaving my jacket on the floor and then hide in the bathroom for 20 minutes."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it was weird." He shrugged. "Anyway, it's a good thing I left the ring in the safe here or she might have found it while she was tidying."

"Uh...yeah..." Sam laughed nervously. "You wouldn't want her to find out, would you?"

Josh frowned a little. "Well, no...not yet...Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure I'm fine." He nodded quickly. "Just y'know..."

"Sam?"

"It's nothing...Do you have any more ideas how you're going to ask her?"

"No," he sighed.

"Maybe something over lunch?" Sam suggested.

Josh thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know, maybe I should leave it a day or two...Just so that I can get it perfect."

"No!" Sam exclaimed, startling Josh a little. "I mean, you can't leave it... you should do it today..."

"What's so special about today?"

"Nothing, I just want you guys to be happy."

"Sam, why are you acting weird?"

"I'm not... Listen, don't make plans for lunch...I'll set something up." He stood and made his way to the door.

"Sam..."

"Trust me."

Josh sighed but said no more as Sam left.

_**XxXxX**_

Donna quickly covered up the Bridal magazine she had been reading when there was a knock on her office door. "Come in."

"Hey, you've had your hair done." Annabeth said as she walked in.

Donna smiled. "Yeah, I made an emergency appointment this morning."

"Really? What's the occasion?"

"What? Oh nothing really..."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I'll tell you but you can't say anything to anyone!"

"About what?"

"Josh and I are getting married!" She exclaimed.

"Oh my, God! That's great!" Annabeth hugged her.

"I know!"

"Why can't I tell anyone?" She questioned.

"Well, he hasn't actually asked me yet."

Annabeth stepped back. "Oh."

"But he will."

"Oh yeah, sure..." She patted her arm.

"No, seriously...he's planning it."

"Planning it?"

"Sam told me...He had planned to ask on my birthday but something went wrong..."

"Sam told you this?"

"He thought Josh had proposed over dinner last night but he got called into the Sit room before he had a chance to."

"So, Sam actually said that Josh is going to ask you to marry him?"

"Yes!"

There was another knock on the door and Donna's assistant walked in.

"This just arrived for you."

Donna smiled widely as she was handed a single red rose. She looked at the small card attached to it. _ Please meet me for lunch, Love Josh xxx_

"Aww..." Annabeth cooed. "That's so sweet."

"I can't believe how much trouble he's going to." Donna clutched the rose to her chest.

"I can't believe you guys are finally going to get married."

A few tears filled Donna's eyes. "Me either."

_**XxXxX**_

Santos dismissed the Senior Staff, all except Josh and Sam.

"Right, so I hear we're having another go at the proposal this lunch time?" Matt looked at them.

"We, Sir?" Josh repeated.

"Don't worry, we've got it all planned out, Josh," Sam assured him. "I've sent a rose to Donna from you asking her to meet you for lunch."

"What?"

"We've got a car arranged to take you to the park where you can enjoy a quiet romantic picnic."

"Picnic? Have you seen the weather?"

"The weather is fine."

"Sam, look at those clouds."

"I've called the experts and they said it's not going to rain."

"I'm getting a sense of deja-vu..."

"Will you trust me?!"

Josh sighed, not completely happy that they had taken control over his proposal. "I think I'll wait for another time..."

"Why?"

"Well because I want it to be perfect...I want it to be my way," he answered. "Besides, President Bartlet is coming by this afternoon and I want to ask when I don't have to rush away."

"President Bartlet is coming here?"

"Yeah, he's in town for a few days and wanted to catch up, maybe have dinner."

"That is perfect!" Sam insisted.

"Yeah, you and Donna have your romantic lunch...no rush...If you're late back, I'm sure President Bartlet will understand...Then later, we can all celebrate up in the residence."

"And what other time can you guarantee that he'd in town to celebrate."

"I don't know..."

"Okay, I'm ordering you to take your girlfriend to lunch and propose to her," Matt stated, picking up a picnic basket and handing it to him. "We even prepared food."

"Okay, fine..." Josh sighed, taking the basket.

"Good, now get out of here."

"Yes, Sir..."

"How did you know what food to get?" Sam asked once Josh had left.

"I'm the President." Matt stated but continued when Sam just stared back at him. "I asked Helen what would be the perfect food for a picnic."

"Ah, good idea."

"I thought so." Matt nodded. "Do you think we could do this professionally? Planning ways for people to propose?"

Sam thought about it for a moment. "Honestly, Sir? The stress of this is going to kill me."

_**XxXxX**_

Josh looked at Donna closely as they walked hand in hand through the park. Her hair was different...he wanted to ask about it but he didn't want to get into trouble. He wasn't sure how long it had been different and was beginning to wonder if that's why she got mad at him last night.

"This is nice," Donna sighed contently when they found a nice quiet spot.

"Yeah, it is." Josh smiled, spreading out a blanket for them both to sit on.

"It makes a change."

"Yes," Josh agreed, opening the basket and pulled out a bottle of champagne. "Drink?"

She nodded. "Y'know, we seem to drinking a lot of this lately."

"Well, we have a lot to celebrate," he answered as he started to open it while Donna removed the food.

"Oh really?" She watched him for a minute before looking to see what he had brought. Tuna salad... she was allergic to tuna and that's what he choose to bring her for lunch. They had known each other for 10 years...They had been dating for almost a year and he still didn't know that she was allergic to tuna. Maybe she had been right before about fate trying to tell them to slow down.

Josh finally managed to get the bottle open and turned to Donna.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, moving closer when saw she had tears in her eyes.

"This." She shoved the salad over to him.

"Oh...that's...that's tuna."

"Yes! Tuna! I would have thought by now that you would know I'm allergic to tuna!"

"No, I did ..Honestly... it's a mistake!" Josh insisted, reaching to search for something else in the basket. "Look... we got... uh... Strawberries...Urgh, you hate strawberries...I know that too...What else do we have?"

Just as he grabbed the basket, there was a loud clap of thunder, he glanced up at the sky. "Oh no..."

_**XxXxX**_

Sam sat at his desk, humming quietly to himself as he type on his computer. He was concentrating so hard on his work that he didn't hear the door open. Then the sound of it slamming shut with so much force, caused him to jump and almost lose his balance.

He looked up and found Josh stood glaring at him. A very wet and angry Josh glaring at him. He turned a little in his chair to look out the window.

"Wow, it started to rain..."

"Rain?!" Josh exclaimed loudly. "It's a _freaking monsoon_ out there!!"

"Okay, I know you must be upset..."

"Oh, I'm not upset, Sam..."

"Well, you kind of sound like you are."

"Trust me! That's what you said! Trust me!"

"Yes, yes, I did..." Sam nodded, jumping up from his chair as Josh moved closer to the desk. "But maybe you should have learned from the past..."

"Sam!"

"So, you didn't get chance to ask her?"

"Oh when would I have had the chance? While she crying because she thought I didn't love her enough not to kill her with tuna!"

"Why would you kill her with tuna?"

"Because she's allergic to tuna!" Josh shouted.

"Oh!"

"Yeah and then we almost drowned in the rain that I predicted..."

"Well, a little water never hurts..."

"Okay, you tell Donna that... She had her hair done this morning and apparently it's ruined!" Josh stated. "So, that's the tuna, her hair...she's crying her eyes out and everyone else is looking at me like I'm the worlds worst boyfriend..."

"Josh..."

"When was I meant to ask her?!"

"Uh...Well, at last now you get to wait for another time and do it how you want."

Josh glared at him. "I'm assigning a secret service agent to make sure you get no where near my plans."

"Right." Sam nodded.

He glared at him once more before storming out of the office.

_**TBC**_

_**  
Please please review!!**_


	4. Annabeth's Idea

**Here's the next part! Please review!! Thanks!!**

**Enjoy!!**

**Annabeth's Idea**

"What happened?" Annabeth trailed behind Donna, following her as she went into her office.

"Josh took me for a picnic."

"Oh no..."

"I'm soaked!" She complained.

"Well, it was a sweet idea...You've got to give him some points for that."

"Yeah," she sighed loudly, dropping into her chair.

"And he's a powerful man but he can't control the weather, " Annabeth teased, trying to make her feel better.

"It's not that."

"What is it then?"

"He brought tuna salad."

"But you're allergic to tuna."

"Exactly! You know that so why doesn't Josh?"

"But...I thought he did," Annabeth frowned.

"He did say it was a mistake but..."

"It must have been because it was Josh that told me you were allergic."

"What?"

"While the First Lady and I were organising your party, we asked Josh's opinion on some stuff and he told us you couldn't eat tuna."

"He knows?"

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah."

"He helped organise my party?"

"He helped as much as he could but he was quite busy." Annabeth sat down in the chair in front of Donna's desk. "We got the purple decorations because he told us that it was your favourite colour... He helped choose the food list and told us you like chocolate cake best."

"Really?" Donna asked, surprised because Josh had never cared about those kind of detail before when it came to a party. As long as there was a little bit of food and something to drink, then he was happy.

"Yeah and he said unless we could hire Yo Yo Ma, you'd prefer a Jazz band instead of an orchestra."

"Wow."

"So, still doubting that he loves you?"

"I never doubted he loved me," Donna claimed then sighed. "It's just...we've been through much...It's taken us so long to get to this point...I guess, I hate waiting for him ask."

Annabeth stood up and grinned suggestively. "Who says you have to wait for him to ask you?"

Donna just watched her leave the office, suddenly deep in thought.

_**XxXxX**_

Josh walked into his office, his clothes still soaking wet. Margaret had said she'd try and find him so dry clothes. He sat down and let his head hit the desk, hard. He stayed like that for a few minutes, listening to the silence before there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." He called out, not bothering to lift his head.

"Joshua, is there a reason why the President of the United is hiding from you?"

He sat up straight and saw Jed Bartlet stood in his doorway.

"Mr President!" He jumped to his feet. "I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't realise you were here."

"That's quite all right." Jed laughed lightly, shaking his head. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I got caught out in the rain," Josh sighed.

"What were you doing out in the rain?"

"It's a long story, Sir."

"Does it have anything to do with President Santos staying out of your way."

Josh ran a hand through his damp hair. "It's nothing, Sir...Just...just something crazy, it doesn't matter."

"What's going on, Josh?" Jed questioned as they both moved over the sofa to sit down.

Josh looked at his hand for a moment before glancing up at his old boss. "I'm going to ask Donna to marry me."

Jed's face lit up with excitement. "Well, that's great news!"

"Yes, except I've tried three times now but it keeps getting messed up."

"Ah and that has something do with President Santos?" Jed predicted.

"He was just trying to help...Sam as well...They set up a lunch for us...A picnic but Donna's allergic to the food they gave us and then it started to rain."

"Not very romantic."

"No," Josh agreed.

"How did you plan it?" Jed questioned.

"I was going to do it at her birthday party... With her family and friends there."

"You didn't want to be alone?"

"Well, to be honest, Sir...we both knew we'd do this some day...It's what we both want but there's a lot of people that think they'll never see the day we get married."

Jed laughed. "They do have a point."

"Yes, Sir...So that's why I choose the party then everyone could celebrate with us."

"What happened?"

"Sam announced the date of his wedding...It didn't seem like the right moment afterwards."

"And the second time?"

"We were at dinner but I got called into work," Josh told him. "I think that's why Sam and the President arranged the picnic because they feel guilty about ruining the first two attempts but..."

"But what?"

"Well, to be honest, they made things 10 times harder."

"You'll get there, Josh," Jed assured him, patting his arm. "If it's meant to be then you'll work it out."

"It is meant to be, Sir."

"I know."

"And the next time, I'm just going to ask her...I don't need to try so hard...It's not us...It's not how we normally are."

"It seems like you have everything under control." Jed got his feet and Josh followed. "I'll leave you to it...The Santos' are throwing a little party in the residence tonight...I take it, you'll be there?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good..." He nodded. "Right then, I'm going to head over to Sam's office and give him a hard time for messing you around."

"I'd really appreciated that, Sir."

Jed held his hand out to him. "Congratulations, Josh."

Josh shook his hand. "Thank you, Mr President."

Jed smiled at him again before leaving the office.

Josh picked up his phone and called Donna but her voicemail picked up.

"Hey, it's me...I was just calling to say sorry about lunch...Sorry about the tuna and sorry that your hair got ruined...I'll pay for you to have it re-done, I'll even come with you...keep you company while it's being done...Actually, I'll probably just end up annoying the hell out of you..." He rubbed his eyes a little, realising that he probably sounded like an idiot. "But anyway, I'll make it up to you...Right, I'll speak to you later..."

He hung up the phone, sighing before suddenly remembering something. He picked up the phone and dialled her number again.

"It's me again...I forgot to tell you...I love you."

_**XxXxX**_

Donna had just finished changing into some dry clothes and headed back to her office. The First Lady had gone to see the President and her staff were all busy working. She picked up her cell phone and realised she had two voicemails.

She listened to Josh's first message and couldn't help but smile slightly. He could be really sweet sometimes.Annabeth waited patiently at the door for her to finish on the phone. Tears filled Donna's eyes when she heard Josh's second message.

"Donna, are you okay?" Annabeth questioned, once she had put the phone down.

"Uh, yeah but I've got to go."

"Where?" She asked as Donna walked past her.

"To see Josh..."

She ignored anyone who tried to stop her as she made her way to the West Wing. She decided to take Annabeth's advice...She was going to ask him to marry her. She didn't care about tradition... Sam had said just wanted to be all romantic for her but he had been romantic even if he hadn't realise it and nothing else matter.

"Hey, Margaret is he busy?" Donna asked but didn't bother to stop.

"Uh, no but you might want..." Margaret started to warn her but she had already opened the door.

Josh looked up at her, surprised but she didn't give him chance to speak.

"Okay, listen up Romeo...I don't care about flowers, champagne or romantic lunches...we're getting married... We're going to have a nice simple wedding and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together with any children we make along the way, okay?"

Josh's mouth fell open slightly in complete shock. Donna just looked back at him, giving a few minutes to process what she had said.

"Well, are you going to answer her?" Jed broke the silence.

Donna suddenly turned and realised for the first time that they weren't alone in the room.

The President and First Lady stared at Donna, Jed looked amused by it all and Sam looked like he could use a strong drink.

"Uh...I'm...Umm.." Donna stuttered looking to Josh and then back at their audience, going bright red. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise...I'm sorry, I should go..."

"Donna..." Josh started.

"I shouldn't have interrupted," she added quickly.

"Donna?!" Josh called after her as she walk out the room. He rubbed his face, he couldn't believe how hard all of this was. All he wanted to do was get married! "If I'll excuse me...I have to..."

"Go." President Santos told him before he finished the sentence.

"Thanks." Josh ran out, trying to catch up with his girlfriend.

**TBC**

**Okay, the next chapter is the last chapter! Please please review!!**


	5. Not Much Is Going To Change

**Okay, here's the last part!! It's pretty much really sappy! But please review!! Thanks!**

**Enjoy!!**

**Not Much Is Going To Change**

Josh was almost running through the West Wing. He pushed past people, not bothering to slow down - even when Lou tried to stop him. She didn't look too happy that he had ignored her but he didn't care right now. All he cared about was catching up with Donna and sorting out this mess.

"Donna?" He called out seeing her walking quickly out of the main entrance but she didn't stop or even look back. "Damn it."

He passed the guards at the desk, who watched him with a mixture of curiosity and amusment.

"Donna, stop...please, wait." He called again once he was outside of the building, realising it was still raining, although not as much as it was before.

She sighed and stopped. "I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting..."

"God, have you been training for a marathon or something?" He questioned slightly out of breath when he reached her. "Maybe I'm just getting old..."

"Josh..." She started.

"You didn't let me answer your question." He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, noticing she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

"You were busy...you should get back there," she told him pulling the jacket tighter around her.

"We were just catching up, I was about to call you and ask you to come over," he informed her. "But you kind of turned up before I had the chance."

She groaned turning away from him. "I can't believe I did that..."

"Yeah, I was a bit surprised to," he teased.

"Our bosses were there...Sam was there..." She hung her head a little and covered her face. "President Bartlet was there."

Josh laughed lightly and put an arm around her waist to guiding her to an empty bench. "I think they found it pretty entertaining..."

"Oh my, God..." She groaned again. "I'm an idiot.. It was a crazy thing to do."

"I think it was pretty cool."

She looked up at him, suspiciously. "Really?"

"Yeah and at least you were actually able to ask me...Unlike my attempts."

"I didn't so much ask you...I pretty much told you."

"I think that was pretty cool too," he said softly, reaching up and brushing her wet hair behind her ear.

She smiled widely at him, completely oblivious to the people that rushed around them trying to get out of the rain.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get it right," he started. "I wanted it to be special and romantic but I guess that's just not me."

She stared at him. "Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"You're the sweetest, most romantic guy I know."

"I almost killed you with tuna earlier..."

"I'm not talking about that...I'm talking about all of the little thing you do...The things you do when you're not trying to be romantic and you're just being you," she stated. "You have one of the most important and powerful jobs in the world and you still find time to have lunch with me almost everyday...You made sure the First Lady and Annabeth picked the right things for my party..."

"Well, they already had a list, I just made some suggestions..." He started but she continued.

"Every time we have a conversation on the phone, at the end you always say you love me and if you forget, you always call back and tell me within two minutes..." She placed a hand on his check. "You give me your jacket when you think I might be cold..."

"Yeah but..."

"When you buy me coffee and you always get me a muffin as well- even when I don't ask for one...You let me share your fries..."

"Better then you just stealing them," he commented.

"When we're walking together, you always hold my hand or have yours on my back, guiding me..." She smiled. "You always buy me really thoughtful Christmas gifts...even though you don't celebrate..."

"Y'know, you could seriously damage my reputation with all this information."

"Why would I want to do that? I'm going to be your wife...aren't I?"

He smiled. "Put your hand in my pocket."

"Josh!" She looked up at him quickly.

"In my jacket pocket, Donna." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, sorry..." She blushed a little and reached into the pocket, pulling out a ring box.

"I've been carrying it around with me pretty such since I've brought," he said quietly, watching as she opened it. "I hope it's okay..."

Her eyes filled up with tears. "It's beautiful..."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

He took hold of her hand and picked the ring up. Sliding it onto her finger carefully before kissing her palm.

"Perfect." She whispered and ran her hand over his cheek.

"Good." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry it took so long to get here."

She sighed contently, resting her head on his shoulder. "Me too."

He tightened his grip around her. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Sam's not allowed anywhere near our wedding plans."

She pulled back to look at him. "Why?"

"Nothing...Just he...well, lets just say all this confusion is all his fault."

"Okay..." She put her head back down. "And I guess I wouldn't have been so wound-up if he hadn't told me your were planning to propose."

"Yeah.." Josh agreed before realising what she'd said. "What?!"

"What?" She asked, confused as to why he had pulled away again.

"He told you?!"

"He thought I knew."

"How? I...What?" Josh stuttered.

She rolled his eyes. "After dinner, I went to see him to find out why you were acting weird and I kind of tricked him into telling what you were up to."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Then you'll have to find another Deputy and another best man."

"Okay, fine I won't kill him."

"Good." They sat in a comfortable silence just enjoying being together before Donna spoke. "Is it weird that this doesn't feel weird?"

"You think marrying me should feel weird?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes...I mean no...I just meant, aren't we supposed to be feeling something now?" She questioned. "We've just decided to take a big step..."

"Well, we're not... if you really think about it," he replied. "All that stuff I do that you said was sweet...I do it because I love you and I'm not going to stop doing that because we're married..."

"You don't think it'll change things?"

"Not much, no...Just because we're having a wedding, isn't going to make me think of you any differently..." He explained. "It doesn't mean you're going to stop being understanding when I've got to work late and it doesn't mean that on the nights I do get home early, I'm going to expect you to be home early..."

"Yeah, I know that..."

"It's not going to change the plans we've already made...Thanksgivings with my Mom...Christmases with your parents...And even though we both want children one day...it doesn't mean it has to happen right now because we're getting married."

"So, what you're saying is a wedding is just a wedding?"

"_Our _wedding is going to be an amazing day, where you'll look absolutely stunning in your dream dress and I'll look handsome in a tux..." He continued. "Because, well lets face it...I do look good in a tux."

She laughed. "Josh..."

"And all our friends and family can celebrate with us and see just how much I love you."

"Okay, shut up and kiss me."

"Yes, Ma'am."

When they had broken the kiss, Donna put her head back on his shoulder and Josh looked around. That's when he noticed the street was completely deserted and it was still raining pretty hard.

"Uh, Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we could move this inside...I'm getting pretty wet again...Margaret is going to kill me."

She looked at him, seeing that he was completely soaked. "Oh my, God, people must think we're crazy!"

"Well, I wouldn't worry to much about that because you did order me to marry you and you mentioned something about making kids in front of two Presidents." He got up and pulled her with him. "Speaking of which, they're probably wondering what's going on."

"Yeah, we should go and tell them the news...Do you want your jacket back?"

"Nah, you keep it." He slipped his hand around her waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"We should get married before Sam so no one cares about his wedding."

Josh laughed and kissed the top of her head. "That's my girl!"

**The End**

**I hope you liked this fic!! Please review and let me know!!**


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